Neighbors Say School Traffic Is Hazardous : Thousand Oaks: The country road’s residents circulate petitions demanding that the Waverly adult campus close a gate or be moved.

The clatter of horse hoofs and the rustle of maple trees used to be the only sounds that shattered the silence of the equestrian neighborhood surrounding Waverly Adult School in Thousand Oaks.

Nowadays, residents paint a hazardous picture of urban life that comes with roaring engines, squealing tires and occasional close calls.

Some residents blame the change on the 400 to 500 adult students who attend typing, arts and crafts, English-language and other night classes.

They say some students, especially teen-agers and those who are recent immigrants, are unfamiliar with the rules of the road and have made their country road unsafe by barreling down Waverly Heights Drive at speeds of up to 50 m.p.h.

“If they came from Vietnam, they’re probably not people who have driven a number of years,” said Bruce Hyatt, a 20-year resident of the neighborhood. “They probably didn’t have a car before. They’re not experienced, accomplished drivers, and that makes it more dangerous for people who live here.”

The fight has pitted residents such as Hyatt against officials who run the adult school, a former elementary school that has coexisted with neighbors for 30 years.

Homeowners contend that the posted 25 m.p.h. speed limit is excessive for a neighborhood with narrow streets, blind curves and no sidewalks.

Earlier this year, neighbors staged a demonstration in front of the public school to urge officials to permanently close a gated entrance to the facility that opens on Waverly Heights Drive--a demand that has so far been refused.

Now they are circulating petitions calling for the gate to be shut or for the school to be moved, said Sal Terrusa, one of the campaign’s organizers.

“We have a right to safe streets,” said Terrusa, who lives near the school. Every resident in the area, he said, can recite a litany of near-collisions with pedestrians and horseback riders.

Recently, he said, pointing to the gate, “we had a young driver hit that bump and become airborne and then do a 180-degree turn. That’s what we have to live with.”

Terrusa said neighbors plan to lodge their complaints with the Conejo Valley Unified school board. If that fails, he said, “our next step is go to elected officials.”

Waverly Heights Drive has always served as one of two access roads to the campus, which was converted into the adult school a decade ago.

No one complained when the facility was an elementary school, said Waverly school Principal David Woodruff. He blames the problem on speed humps that were installed on Montgomery Road, a wider street leading up to the school’s main entrance.

Although the humps do not restrict traffic, drivers have discovered that Waverly Heights Drive offers a less bumpy ride.

Woodruff has refused to shut the entrance on Waverly Heights. The gate is left open during school hours to allow fire engines or other safety vehicles to enter the campus and to allow students to leave the parking lot quickly and safely. At night after 10:30 and on Fridays and weekends, the gate remains closed.

The school has considered alternatives short of closing the gate, including installing speed bumps at two entrances, Woodruff said.

The principal has posted signs in all 16 classrooms in the school, reminding students not to speed. He said he visits each classroom every month to issue the same warning.

The district also asked Ventura County sheriff’s deputies to patrol the neighborhood during school hours and to ticket speeders.

Staff workers stand guard at both gates each night to watch for speeders. The school’s parking lot was re-striped to create more spaces so that students would not park outside the school.

“We’re not out to be bad neighbors,” Woodruff said. “But what the community is asking is contrary to all the traffic guidelines and laws.”

Recently, Thousand Oaks installed street signs warning drivers to abide by the 25 m.p.h. speed limit. However, city officials said it is unable to post signs asking motorists to drive at a slower speed, as requested by some neighbors.

“We can’t post a street for anything less than 25 m.p.h. It can’t be enforced. It’s illegal,” said John Clement, public works director for the city, which is responsible for maintaining the street. “Twenty-five is a very reasonable speed limit.”

Clement said he has refused to remove speed humps on Montgomery Road, but he offered to install speed humps on Waverly Heights Drive. Neighbors rejected that idea because it would make the street bumpy for horse trailers, he said.

Conejo Valley Unified School District Supt. William Seaver said the district has done all it could.

“If any student is violating the law, I think they should be arrested,” Seaver said. “But I believe citizens have the right to use the road as long as they obey traffic laws.”

Some homeowners have defied the city and posted their own signs warning drivers to watch for playing children and to slow down to 5 m.p.h. They have also begun handing out flyers of their own, warning students in both Spanish and English to drive below the posted speed limit.

Jim DeMattia, who has lived in the neighborhood for 26 years, said the school’s refusal to yield to citizens’ demands has angered some neighbors.

“It’s a power struggle,” DeMattia said. “The school people are determined not to let people in the neighborhood tell them what to do.”

DeMattia has had some close calls when he travels to the school parking lot for his almost daily roller-blading excursions.

“I skate defensively,” DeMattia said. “When I see a car that might be trouble, I get out of the way.”